Lapping Machine

What is a Lapping Machine

The lapping machine is a machine used for surface finishing of metal parts, through controlled material removal. The main objective is the reduction of surface roughness, improvement of flatness and, in some cases, dimensional precision.

How the Lapping Machine Works

The process occurs through the abrasive action of a tool called lapping plate, generally made of cast iron, steel or dedicated materials, on which an abrasive in suspension is distributed (paste or slurry containing grains of silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, diamond, etc.).

How Lapping is Performed

The workpiece is positioned in contact with the rotating plate (or in combined rotary and orbital motion) and held in position by work carriers or pressure arms, which exert controlled pressure. The combined action of pressure, relative motion and abrasive generates uniform micro-removal on the workpiece surface.

Types of Lapping Machines

Lapping machines can be:

• Single-sided flat plate machines for processing one face at a time (present in our testing room);
• Double-sided opposed plate machines for simultaneous processing on both faces (double lapping);
• Vertical or horizontal depending on the plate orientation.

The process allows obtaining surface roughness below Ra 0.1 µm, with high geometric flatness and parallelism between the machined surfaces.

Why the Lapping Machine for Micro-Finishes is Useful for Distitec in the Testing Room

It is a fundamental tool for the machining of flat surfaces, where the following are required:

• ultra-low roughness to reduce friction and wear during rolling;
• rigorous flatness to ensure uniform load distribution;
• precise parallelism between the rolling element raceways, in order to ensure uniform contact between rolling elements and raceways, avoiding localized loads and kinematic anomalies.